Forsaken Commander

The Aternien Wars, Book 1

By: G J Ogden

Narrated by: Seth Garcia

- KINDLE STORYTELLER AWARD WINNER 2023 -

Humanity’s only hope is the commander they spurned.

Once, Master Commander Carter Rose was the Union’s secret weapon. An augmented, bio-engineered officer in command of the most powerful warship ever devised by human minds, Rose brought them victory against the post-human Aternien Empire.

Then they cast him aside.

A century later, living alone on a distant forest moon, feared and forsaken by the people he fought to save, Rose has grown bitter and resentful, while his superhuman body refuses to age.

When Major Carina Larsen seeks his help to save Earth from becoming the last frontier of humanity, Rose is reluctant to return to duty. Until Larsen reveals the real peril: the Aterniens are on the rise again, hell-bent on revenge.

And after a century of peace, the Union has forgotten how to fight.

But even if Rose can recover his marooned warship and assemble a crew, his allegiance is now a valuable commodity — and a secret weapon is only ever as dangerous as those who wield it…

Forsaken Commander the Winner of the Kindle Storyteller Award 2023 and book one of the Aternien Wars series, an epic blend of space opera and militaristic sci-fi. Follow an elite crew of augmented officers as they fight a post-human enemy styled on the myths of ancient Egypt.

Click ‘buy now’ to start the Aternien Wars series today!

©2023 G J Ogden (P)2023 G J Ogden

It's okay

It is a slow burner that doesn't ever really catch fire. The Audible voice actor has a habit of talking softly at times. It makes it difficult to hear the story at points. I might pick the series back up at a later time, but I don't see a reason to continue with it now.

Great world building adventure

The author does a great job building the world for the rest of the series, we get a feel for the 'rules' of the universe and get to see the characters develop relationships. There is a good mix of action and plot advancement to keep interest. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the Master Commander's story!

Narrator does an excellent job with pacing and is pleasant to listen to.

A fun, gripping and entertaining experience.

First, I received this review-code in return for an honest review. Which I am grateful for.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. The rich lore is definitely enjoyable and something that I have found to be missing in some of the sci-fi series I have read before.
The main character is over a century old and a veteran of a very hard and costly war. So there isn’t a lot of character development besides the “reigniting of the fire” that he has. The side characters being drawn around the MC are enjoyable. Especially the Major. She is a lot younger and still have some great development to see in the short term.
One of my biggest issues is with the audio itself. The editing was well done for the most part and the narration was good. However, it was any time there is a word with a “s” sound, you get the annoying whistle like sound. I pushed through it anyway but it made my head hurt more. The series has great potential but the quality makes my head hurt too much to want to come back to this to listen again…

A Stellar Space Odyssey!

G.J. Ogden's "Forsaken Commander" thrusts you into an enthralling tale of a discarded hero, Commander Carter Rose, narrated flawlessly by Seth Garcia. Ogden's writing is a masterclass in weaving futuristic technology, post-human foes, and simmering tension, all while delivering a narrative that's as unrelenting as it is riveting. Garcia's narration brings these characters to life, making this audiobook an absolute must-listen for any sci-fi enthusiast. Prepare for an interstellar journey that'll keep you hooked until the last word.

Good not great.

Overall I enjoyed the story, but have to say it was good not great. Lots of fast paced action but the story fell story on development for me. It works as a beginning but leaves too much unanswered.

Different sort of story

Started slow, which was expected. I sped up the recorded listening speed but the story held my attention

Great narrator

There are a few things that could be worked on but all in all it's a very entertaing space opera.
I sure want to know what happens next.

The [Force of] Non-belief is Strong In This One

It’s a Space Opera … so a certain level of silliness is expected … however, there is a point of diminishing returns and that point is in the rear view for this story. The classic elements (tropes) of a good story are there but are so mechanically stitched together that it never really takes on a life of its own. So we get a human stellar union (republic) that comes under threat from mysterious (Aternien) super-humans, aka post-humans (Sith anybody?). Their only hope is a couple of augmented humans (Jedi) wielding plasma swords (light sabers), their AI gopher bots (droids) and their former weapons platform (aka long sword spaceship) that was scuttled and abandoned (but apparently just needs a few patches and an OS to be good to go) after the previous war ended in an armistice (that being the perfect time to forget how to actually fight a stellar war). The one (damsel) human intelligence officer on the team is apparently there to serve as a foil to show just how much the augmented humans are over the top “Mary Sue(s)” … a fact that the reader is constantly reminded of ad nauseam … oh and the obvious shipping potential. So we have a team of three (3) good guys vs a handful of Uber bad guys in which was intended to be an Epic story, but there is not a single minion or supporting character in sight … and that is as good as it gets.

The character voices are pretty good and captured the witty banter well; however, the (overly dramatic) narrative text between that didn’t work for me. Still … it was good enough to improve my enjoyment of the story (at least a little) and enabled me to ignore some of the over explanation of the obvious as well as basic errors that would otherwise make no sense … such as a statement that ballistic rounds were unable to penetrate skin that was as solid as lead (which actually can be cut with a butter knife) … of shattered glass from a space shuttle cockpit … directing a massive warship (that maneuvers like a craft with a fraction of its mass) in a space battle with just three people … a rank of Major in a space Admiralty … nanites are basically magic plot armor … et al.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheBigFour #FreeAudiobookCodes #KindleUnlimited

multi-faceted conflict populated with diverse char

Old soldiers never die; they just fade away..... until an upstart young major with far more pluck than common sense dares into the backwater one retired into having decided old soldiers may just be what humanity needs to fight an old threat that is rearing its head from the murky depths of old nightmares.

Crazy adrenaline-fueled ride from page one, this book barely lets the characters catch their breath from one catastrophe before they are thrown into another. From monsters to bar fights to epic ship's battles and all the crazy psychological battles in between, Ogden weaves a compelling multi-faceted conflict populated with interesting diverse characters and some really fun tech. Lots of potential with this one! More on the enjoy the ride exciting space opera side of things as opposed to hard military sci-fi concerned with explaining all the tech and maintaining strict plausibility.

Book 1 in The Aterian Wars, this book sets the stage and shows the opening volleys of the resurrected war. I like the complexity added to the human side of things especially with the history and prejudices of the previous war. The Post-humans make for an interesting foe.

Seth Garcia's narration was excellent, easy to understand and great differentiated voices.